Buffalo is my favorite city and, if you're reading this, it might also be your favorite city. But how did it end up being voted in as America's Favorite City? 

This is what Travel & Leisure has to say:

"The upstate New York city staged a huge upset this year, in part by scoring very well in one category: people think it’s been wildly underrated. Indeed, Buffalo impressed readers with everything from its affordability to its surprising, high-end dining. Go to whiskey-infused steakhouse Marble and Rye, or chef Adam Goetz’s Craving, which is lauded for inventive dishes like short ribs braised in root beer. As of this summer, the hot place to stay will be the 68-room Curtiss Hotel, in a 1913 building, which will offer the city’s first all-weather “urban hot springs.” One category where Buffalo still has room to impress readers? Its weather."

You just couldn't resist the weather jab, now could you... Tut, tut, T+L editors. Very cliche.

But wait, there's more:

“I’ve seen Buffalo go from being called Rust Belt to pronounced near dead,” says Judi Griggs, a Houston marketing exec who grew up in the western New York contender. But lately, Buffalo has been buzzing with life, from the Canalside District, dotted with a restaurants and its huge rink (where, during winter, you can even rent ice bicycles) to the RiverWorks project, set to open a big craft brewery. “I love to bring west coast and European friends back to my town,” says Griggs. “The more travelled and sophisticated they are, the lower their expectations—and the more likely that they will be blown away.”

I agree. It's an expectations thing. 

But it's also a voting phenomenon. 

"Travel + Leisure’s America’s Favorite Places survey opened on 10/8/2015 and closed on 04/15/2016. It was open to everyone, and ran alongside a sweepstakes. The open-response survey asked respondents to submit their favorite place and rate it in over 65 categories, including affordability, notable restaurants, and public parks. Cities are defined as governed bodies with a population over 100,000. After discarding incomplete ballots and cities that received less than 20 votes, each entry was ranked according to an average score."

Visit Buffalo Niagara very wisely waged a major social media campaign to encourage folks to vote - especially folks who love Buffalo. And it worked. 

Now that may sound rigged to some, but it sounds very smart to me. This win will open many eyes and make plenty of folks take another look at Buffalo. Expats, alumni from our many colleges and universities, snow birds, suburbanites who have not dared venture into town for decades...this publication reaches millions of readers. The article is intended to attract tourists. I am betting it is also going to lure a lot of folks back, at least for a peek.

Kudos to the VBN and T+L. This is a lotta BuffaLove.